Red Star Courier/Page 2/7-06

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Sertraline.png The Red Star Courier
Price: One doughnut "All the muse has seen fit to print" July 2006
Printed in Hamadan


News

==== Defeat at Domus ==== --by Aeillien Mandraken, July 25th, 2006

First readers, this editor must beg forgiveness for the silence of this newspaper over the last week. This was caused in part by this editor being captured in a Skirmish in Winkamus some days before the now infamous battle of Domus. After that, I was far too busy trying to arrive in time to actually write an article. I will also confess that it is more difficult to bring the spirit to write when one must write about loss, rather than victory. But unfortunate and difficult truths faced make for a stronger spirit over a stubborn insistence to cling to a fantasy of actions not based in that truth, even in the face of the fact that such action may in no way change the course which events have flowed and must continue. To bring a different outcome, a different set of actions must be begun, words that all would be wise to heed.

All that aside, it has not been the best week for Yssaria or her allies. We had assaulted Domus previously, but this latest assault was quite possibly our most serious attempt to bring this long conflict betwixt our two realms to a final close, and bring an end to Caligus and her history.

Clearly, all did not go according to plan. A few hours before the battle, in what is possibly the most critical of the chain of events that transpired to bring the current outcome, General Abishur was killed in a freak lightning storm.

It has been claimed in some circles that he angered the Gods by making comments infringing upon the rights of nobles to go to tourney, but whatever the cause, Yssaria found herself diminished in leadership in a most critical hour.

The Yssarians gathered themselves, and with their Federated Allies of Itorunt, marched forward into Domus.

The Caligans, however, had planned ahead to a more extensive degree than was believed possible. The previous attack on their city had severely damaged their walls, and it was believed by the Yssarians that the simple act of repairing the walls would exhaust the resources of Caligus. Clearly, this was not the case, as the Caligans not only repaired the walls, they reinforced them, where a Keep had been faced before, now a Stronghold stood.

And again, as before, perhaps because of the absence of Abishur, perhaps for other reasons, the entirety of the offensive did not move. As it was, the forced that converged on Domus were the largest in terms of strength which Yssaria and her allies had thrown against those walls, and yet, considering those walls and the strength of the defenders, their strength was insufficient, and the attack was badly beaten back, causing the defenders little damage in return for great casualties among the attackers.

The Caligans followed their attack promptly with sorties going into the offensive, and have retaken Aestus, Yssarian forces have recovered and begun a counter-attack, beating them back from their attempt to take back Supra.

What the next move will be is uncertain. The military future of Yssaria once again resides in the legendary hands of Prandur, who has served the realm so well in the past. Abishur, whatever mistakes he may or may not have made, resides in our memories still, and the grim certainty of duty and purpose continues unabated in the lands over which the red star flies.

==== Advance and Retreat ==== --by Aeillien Mandraken, July 12th, 2006

The army of Yssaria returned to Domus, the capital of Caligus, attempting to bring a decisive close to the war that has engulfed the two realms. A combination of the high walls of the city and portions of the intended attacking force not arriving as planned foiled the attack. At the end of the day after two bloody, hard fought engagements, the Caligan defenders held the walls and forced the Yssarian army back.

Yssarian forces marching from Supra, fresh from refitting in the capital, and Aestus, abandonding the attempt to takeover Sordidus were supposed to meet up in Domus and achieve a victory there. While it is unknowable what would have occurred had all the Yssarian forces arrived in Domus at the scheduled time, it is certain that the split arrivals effectively allowed the bigger Yssarian force to be defeated in two engagements in detail.

The first engagement at sunrise saw a bit more of a third of the intended Yssarian force not on the field. The defenders had twice as many troopleaders as the attackers, while slightly outnumbering them in number of troops. The Yssarians had a very slight advantage in the combat power of the totality of their troops, and at the height of the attack had twelve siege engines attacking the walls. Notwithstanding the siege engines, the forces were too even, allowing the walls to become decisive. Several assaults on the wall were beaten back, but in the end, the Yssarian force was exhausted after four hours of fighting and pulled back from the walls.

The bloodied solders in Domus rallied and healed their men while more forces arrived from the adjacent Yssarian provinces, and a second wave of blood and iron crashed against the walls of Domus as the sun set. Despite the reinforcements the attackers were outnumbered in both combat power and number of solders. With the odds worse this time and with only four operating siege engines, the Yssarians were only able to assault the walls for three hours before pulling back and calling a retreat from city.

The Caligans took advantage of their victory to peform some offensive raids into Aestus and Winkamus, a province recently handed to Yssaria by Ubent as part of its peace agreement with the southern federation. The raiding parties attacked a small amount of militia that was present and beat it with a fairly small force, although it seems Caligus calculates this as a grand victory. The offensives do not seem to wish to stay for the Yssarian response for some reason, however, most of the force in Winkamus seems to be moving back to Domus as of the most recent scout report this reporter has seen. I am unable to confirm if the same holds true in Aestus.

The battle as the sunset gave birth to what seems to be a new legend among Yssarians, regarding the Yerli, a Marshal and Hero of our realm, who took part in the battle. Many eyewitnesses swear that the blow that struck him should have easily killed him, in fact many swore that he had, in fact died. The Caligans found him in the wreckage of the battle and saved his life, however, and he walks and breathes among us still, the man with two lives.

==== Déjà vu all over again ==== --by Aeillien Mandraken, July 7th, 2006

As negotiations between Yssaria and Caligus continue, the war marched onward in Supra and Sordidus. As they have innumerable times before, the banners of the two realms met in fury, once again filling the fields of Supra with the sounds of battle that have echoed there since first the red star banner rose over the cities of Isadril and Mashhad.

Continuing what has been a very bad period for Perdan and Caligus, Yssaria successfully beat back the Caligan forces. The Yssarian forces, again outnumbered in solders and troop leaders but with superior quality, caused lopsided casualties against Caligus and gained decisive control of the field. Yssaria kept its momentum from the victory and marched forces into Sordidus and has begun an attempt to establish control over the region. It is not yet known what effect, if any, these developments will have on the negotiations.

==== Update on Ubent and Caligus ==== --by Aeillien Mandraken, July 5th, 2006

Since our previous report on the situation in Ubent and Caligus more information has come to light that we did not have at the time. But first we wish to make something clear. Despite the outright statements contained in some reports or the implications contained elsewhere, Caligus has not surrendered or signed an official ceasefire with Yssaria. Negotiations are in progress, what their results will be is still uncertain. Yssaria has officially declared a ceasefire with Ubent, and there is a signed peace agreement, which has by now been widely reported. Our diplomatic state with them is not yet officially peace, pending, as this reporter understands it, compliance with the terms of the peace treaty.

Let me first deal with Ubent, as it the simpler situation of the two. The negotiations for this peace agreement have been in the works for about a month, and the nobles of Ubent voted on the agreement, with a majority voting in favor, as is the custom in Republics. It should be noted that the Prime Minister of Ubent had recently been reconfirmed at the beginning of this month. Although this reporter has no sources that indicate this, it strikes me as logical that the election would have been, at the very least, a referendum on the peace agreement. In his announcement of the treaty, the Prime Minister of Ubent noted that he expects it would take one or two weeks to come into full compliance with its terms.

When this reporter asked King Eleran about the agreement, he had this to say:

“Zog is a good man and is doing whatever he can for his people. Ubent will exist and continue the cultural history that it gives to this island. Quake of Ibladesh and Lucian of Itorunt are great to work with and have offered much from their realms.”

That about sums it up as regards the Ubentian situation, as far as this reporter is concerned.

Regarding Caligus, the reports in the Caligan Courier gave everyone the first real inside look at how the rebellion went down. All in all, it seems to have been achieved fairly bloodlessly and quickly. This seems to have been partly both because of the numbers of nobles who fairly quickly declared support for the rebellion, as well as who was part of it. Vlad was not alone among the inner circles of Caligus in joining the rebellion. Medium, the ArchPriest and Banker of the realm, Kamekaze, who was High Marshal, and Glen, a member of the “outer council” who previously had been the ArchPriest also took part. At the time of the Rebellion Vlad himself was also Marshal of Domus. Thus, the rebellion consisted of the entire inner council and good parts of the outer council of Caligus.* These factors seem to have convinced Queen Gwynyth to give up the crown, bloodlessly ending the rebellion.

In his declaration of rebellion and since then Vlad has been quite open about his goals: Peace with Yssaria and neutral relations with the rest of the island. There are, in fact, negotiations ongoing. No results have been achieved yet, but my King has assured me that he will inform me of any news.

*Correction: This paper made several errors in the original version of this article as regards the precise positions held by various rebel members at the inception of the rebellion. Our thanks to the editor of the Caligan Courier for helping correct them.

==== Rebellion in Caligus! ==== --by Aeillien Mandraken, July 2nd, 2006 Breaking News

A few hours ago this very day, a troop leader by the name of Vlad Nosferatus led a succesful rebellion again the Caligan Queen Gwynyth Kazan. No details of the rebellion itself are known, or the aftermath that has followed it. This rebellion, coming while Yssaria continued its attempt to take over Aestus, cannot but be seen as a setback to the Caligan war effort. Vlad Nosferatus is an old hand in Caligus and has been part of the inner circle of power in that kingdom for quite some time, having been appointed Banker several times, as well as holding the titles of Marquis of Tokat and Duke of Akesh Temple. At the time of the rebellion he was publicly known to be part of the “outer council” a group of nobles who advised the Queen in addition to the Judge, Banker, and Marshal.

It is worth noting the history of rebellion of the Nosferatus family here, especially in connection to the province of Tokat, from which the family hails. Vlad’s father was a leader of the rebellion on Tokat when Fontan took over the region. His father was executed, but Vlad and his brother continued his work. Of the three, Vlad became the most well known for his commitment to Tokat, as well as his commitment to Caligus when it took over that region, becoming known as the “Hero of Tokat.” It can only be guessed how the damage inflicted on Tokat during the war with Yssaria affected him. This reporter was present during Yssaria’s takeover of that region last month, and he recalls the land being deeply damaged by war and nearly depopulated. Even less can it be imagined what his reaction might have been to the loss of his beloved Tokat to Yssaria, its declaring independence from both realms and going rogue, and its subsequent capture by Light of Fountain. Whether it is this, or some other motive that caused him to lead a rebellion against a government he was so much a part of, is not known.

==== Ubent sues for peace!==== --by Aeillien Mandraken, July 2nd, 2006

Today, the southern federation of Yssaria, Itorunt, and Ibladesh reached a favorable peace agreement with Ubent, apparently removing that realm out of the current conflict for at least the near future.

The terms of the treaty give Winkamus to Yssaria, the Mines of Isadril to Ibladesh, and Moyale to Itorunt, as well as limiting the size of the army that Ubent may field, on top of having it withdraw from its alliances with Caligus and Perdan. As of this report it is not known by this reporter how long the negotiations for this agreement have been going on, but it is suggestive that the Ubent front of the war has been quiet for about two weeks. The full text of the agreement follows:

"Instrument of Armistice between the Republic of Ubent and the Southern Federation”

Being necessary to ensure the survival of the Republic of Ubent, the aforementioned agrees to the following terms:

The Republic of Ubent will surrender and renounce all claims on the region of Winkamus to Federation member the Kingdom of Yssaria, until such time as the region is lost to another realm or either signatory ceases to exist.

The Republic of Ubent will surrender and renounce all claims on the region of Mines of Isadril to Federation member the Theocracy of Ibladesh, until such time as the region is lost to another realm or either signatory ceases to exist.

The Republic of Ubent will surrender and renounce all claims on the region of Moyale to Federation member the Empire of Itorunt, until such time as the region is lost to another realm or either signatory ceases to exist. As the Itorunt Empire currently shares no border with the Ubent Republic, the region will be surrendered to Ibladesh in trust until a further arrangement between Itorunt and Ibladesh is made.

The Republic of Ubent will limit its military forces to that force necessary only to defend against monsters, undead and other minor aggressors. This is considered as 6,000 Combat Strength. This value may be varied on situation and appeal to the Federation.

The Republic of Ubent will renounce its alliances with the Kingdoms of Perdan and Caligus. In return, the Federation will accept overtures of peace from Ubent, and guarantee no incursions on Ubent's borders unless any item of this instrument is broken by Ubent.

The Republic of Ubent agrees to deny safe harbour or passage to any former member of the Kingdoms of Perdan, Caligus or Kalmar sufficiently experienced to know the ways of their former realms.

These terms will be supported by the Republic of Ubent and the members of the Southern Federation. Should any party lapse in their duty, the remaining parties will agree on suitable chastisement.

Signatories:

Zog Returns Prime Minister of the Republic of Ubent

Eleran King of the Kingdom of Yssaria

Quake Pontifex of the Theocracy of Ibladesh

Lucian Vincent King of the Empire of Itorunt*

*Correction: Due to a transcription error, the original version of this report had Zog Returns as having signed the treaty twice. The copy of the treaty this reporter was given did not have the signature of Itorunt. This has now been confirmed as an error, the treaty has officially been signed by all parties and is now in effect.

==== Victory in Aestus ==== --by Aeillien Mandraken, July 2nd, 2006

Late last month Yssaria went back on the offensive against Caligus by marching into Aestus and initiating an attempt to take over the region. The response from Caligus was at the same time both expected and surpring.

It was expected that Caligus would respond to the offensive, that followed as certaintly as sailor’s shoreleaves and bar brawls. What was surprising was the almost suicidal nature of the attack. The Caligans came in outnumbered by better than three to one in sheer numbers, with Yssaria’s infantry alone outnumbering the entire Caligan army. The Rampant Lion reffered to it, aptly, as a “desperate move.” Unlike the great romantic ballads beloved by some ladies of noble birth, desperate moves in the real world are born, usually, out of a lack of any other resources or solutions, and ingloriously failed. This one was no exception. The attacking force was wiped out in two hours of lopsided fighting, with over half a dozen nobles of Caligus being wounded as they fed their units into the waiting defenders. Going into the details of the battle is unnecessary, it was, from the beggening, a lopsided contest, with a clear winner, the only question is what drove Caligus to make such an attack, and whether this latest move on their part may have, perhaps, been of consequence in the troubles they seem to have recently suffered.



Features

==== Why I Do Fight ==== --Contributor: Falcor Blade, Knight of Isadril July 15th, 2006

A battle has been raging on this continent for many years. Many have lain down their lives, giving the ultimate sacrifice to ensure the security of Yssaria and her people. By all accounts, given our recent excursion into Caligan territories, we are winning this conflict. Yet now, at the height of our advances into enemy lands, there are those who would question our strategy, those who would rather have peace than conflict. While it might seem as though ending hostilities with the Caligans might stop the fighting and sacrifice, in truth doing so would only weaken our strategic position on this continent, thus making our lands and citizens less safe rather than more so. I have, in fact, counted the number of soldiers that have died as a result of the fighting. These are noble men who gave their lives so that our lands may be protected from invasion by the enemy. These men upheld the very tradition of valiant combat that our realm was founded on, and critics of our diplomacy are so quick to ignore. Instead of asking how many have died, we should be asking what they died for, and how many lives they saved through their sacrifice. Furthermore, are not these men solders? They join our forces precisely to fight, and perhaps, die in defense of their homes.

Furthermore, do we honestly believe that it makes no difference whether the Red Star of Yssaria or the Caligan Lion flies over the regions on our border? The truth of the matter is that it does. In order to protect out citizens, we need enough land on the outer rim of our lands to protect against a sudden aggression by enemy realms. This is not to mention the eventual betterment the lives of the peasants of these regions face when ruled by our own King, as opposed to a realm who has broken more treaties and ceasefires than bears mentioning. Compare this to the respect our realm is held in through the known fact that we honor our word, a respect that has led to the southern federation, and our many allies throughout the continent. Finally, the ultimate goal of war is, and has always been, peace. By eliminating our long-time enemies, we are in a position to win peace through battle. Were we to leave the job unfinished, and allow Caligus to remain, they would simply wait for our guard to be lowered to attack, as they have in the past. Make no mistake, if we allow our guard to be lowered even for a moment, an enemy realm will take advantage.

Yssaria is a special concept. Few other places in the world the ruling party accept such diversity of thought and action without cries of treason and sedition. While it is not my intent to stifle such productive debate, I do believe, as the leaders of this realm, that we have a responsibility both to our soldiers and our citizens to be conscious of our words. While it is good and necessary that we question the policy of this realm, we must remain vigilant that we do not undermine the unity that we seek to build with so many diverse opinions. I simply worry that opponents of our current diplomacy stray too close to that line.

We are a proud and noble realm, and we should continue to act like it. Other realms must speak of Yssaria with respect, because we have earned that respect with our blood. We have proven we are willing to spend blood and iron in defense of our realm, our allies, and our precious honor. We cannot dishonor those sacrifices by tucking tail and surrendering to premature calls for peace.

==== Why I Don't Fight ==== --Contributor: Hylor Hobbs, Knight of Hamadan, Former Count of Mashhad and Royal Treasurer, July 7th, 2006

Have you counted how many Caligus and Ubent soldiers we have killed in this war?

Have you counted how many Yssarian soldiers - men and youth, husbands and children of the Yssaria - we have killed in this war?

How many more must die just so that a select few can say "we won"?

Have you counted how many farms, houses, and workshops have been burned and destroyed? How many more livelihoods will be ruined so that a line on a map can be drawn a certain way?

Does it really matter what flag flies above what land? That affects the lives of a handful of nobles and government officials. Tens of thousands of people live their day by day lives regardless of who collects their taxes. But those people are affected by the hardships of war - their brothers being sent on missions we know will lead to their deaths, but which are "necessary" for strategic reasons.

Why do the selfish desires of a hundred high-and-mighty nobles outweigh the very lives of a hundred thousand hard-working peasants?

In the end, you might be able to say you've won. But what exactly have you won? A few more gold pieces in your pocket every taxday? The satisfaction of having slaughtered the enemy's people slightly more effectively than he slaughtered your own?

Today, our government extends its claim to Sordidus, through the most brutal methods known, killing untold numbers of people so that a different colored flag will fly above the countryside. Nearby, nearly 900 men fell on the battlefield in Supra, to achieve nothing. But you will not find me there. You'll find my men building houses and roads, arresting criminals and insurgents - helping the people, rather than hurting them.



Editorials

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